Love in a cashless world

PayPal is the only financial services brand to appear inside the top 20 – at 15 – and only one of two to be included in our Top 100 Most Loved Brands 2021. Visa is the other, squeezing in at 96.

A return to the high street, however, will signal greater opportunity for in-store payment brands

At first glance, this might be unsurprising.

After all, brand appeal among financial services stems from trust and the knowledge that they’ll not only look after our money but also look after our health, our belongings and our families in a worst-case scenario.

But the leap from trusting a brand with these crucial aspects of our lives to loving a brand for it, well it’s possibly a step too far.

So, what does PayPal have that the others don’t?

In a year when the shutters came down on retail and banks closed their doors, PayPal made online purchasing and money transfers simple and convenient.

It scored highly for trustworthiness – a likely result of its buyer protection policy, which reimburses customers should products never arrive.

This gives consumers reassurance and confidence when using the service, which was especially key in a year when almost everything we bought was online.

How embedded it is in our affections remains to be seen.

A return to the high street, however, will signal greater opportunity for in-store payment brands such as Apple Pay and Google Pay to provide the convenience and trust for a more cashless society.

And direct competitors to PayPal such as Klarna and Amazon Pay will be looking for a growing share of consumer love in an accelerated E-commerce world.

To download The Top 100 Most Loved Brands 2021 report, click here.